Buddy is no longer just an ordinary dog

By admin

19 March 2010

What do you get when you take a well-behaved, groomed beast, slap on a perfect set of pearly whites and give him a well-modulated voice and superior attitude? The star of a new series of TV ads, that’s what.

We’re talking of Buddy the boxer – the talking dog that takes a dim view of his canine contemporaries in the Toyota Corolla commercial and helps to rescue a sheep stuck in a donga in the Toyota Hilux ad.

Two-year-old Buddy, born and bred in Joburg, gives viewers a good laugh with his I’m-so-much-better-than-you attitude now his master has a new car. Scratching, barking, licking, drooling – none of this normal doggie behaviour for him, thank you very much . . . until he’s caught off guard (in the Corolla ad) when thrown a ball and becomes a bounding, barking beast quicker than you can say “walkies”.

Buddy was chosen from a pack of pooches that were auditioned for the role once news spread that the search was on for a four-legged star.

Each dog, accompanied by its handler, had to put its best paw forward and although all tried valiantly to prove they were manageable and attentive Buddy stood head and shoulders above the rest.